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Helen Hunt
Award Winning Actress, Accomplished Writer, Director & Producer
Helen Hunt
Award Winning Actress, Accomplished Writer, Director & Producer
Biography
Helen Hunt has enjoyed a distinguished career not only as an award-winning actor but also as an accomplished writer, director and producer. As an actress, her extensive and diverse body of work includes roles in film, theater and television.
Hunt can most recently be seen as Rainey in Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal’s Blindspotting, a show based on the film with the same title. Season two of Blindspotting begins production in February 2022.
On the big screen, Hunt can last be seen in How It Ends, Michael Cristofer’s The Night Clerk and Adam Randall’s thriller I See You.
In 2019, Hunt revived her role as Jamie Buchman for another season of the hit show Mad About You opposite Paul Reiser. The show returned as a limited series on Spectrum Originals, with all episodes available on demand.
Recently, Hunt played Nancy Campbell in BBC’s World War II drama World on Fire. The seven-part series told the story of the first year of the war as seen through the eyes of ordinary people. In 2018, Hunt starred in the inspirational drama The Miracle Season opposite Erin Moriarty, Tiera Skovbye and William Hurt. Hunt also can be seen in the 2017 Fox drama series Shots Fired, alongside Sanaa Lathan, Stephen James, Tristan Mack Wilds, Richard Dreyfuss and True Blood alum Stephen Moyer.
In 2012, Hunt’s performance in The Sessions earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and notations in the same category by the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, Broadcast Film Critics’ Awards and the BAFTA Awards. The film premiered in competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and took home the Audience Award, as well as the jury prize for Best Ensemble. Other film credits include: Netflix’s comedy Candy Jar, Ride (which Hunt also co-wrote, produced and directed), Decoding Annie Parker, Soul Surfer, Every Day, Bobby, Then She Found Me (which Hunt again also co-wrote, produced and directed), As Good as It Gets, What Women Want, Castaway, A Good Woman, The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion, Robert Altman’s Dr. T And The Women, Pay It Forward and Twister. Early career film credits include: The Waterdance, Kiss Of Death, Mr. Saturday Night, Peggy Sue Got Married, Next Of Kin, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Project X and Miles From Home.
Additional television credits include Mad About You and the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Empire Falls. For her role as Jamie Buchman in Mad About You, Hunt garnered four Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards (three as lead actress and one as a producer for best comedy) and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Hunt was also named Best Actress for her role in the film As Good as It Gets for which she won a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Oscar.
As a director, Hunt helmed an episode of Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix show The Politician, as well as Murphy’s FX anthology series Feud: Bette And Joan. Other credits include CBS’s Life In Pieces, NBC’s This Is Us, Splitting Up Together, For the People, ABC’s Revenge, Showtime’s House Of Lies, Californication, Mad About You and The Paul Reiser Show.
In 2007, she directed her first feature film Then She Found Me based on a novel by Elinor Lipman. Hunt also co-wrote, produced and starred in this critically acclaimed and commercially successful film opposite Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick and Bette Midler. In 2014, Hunt again wrote, directed, produced and starred in her second feature film Ride, a story about a mother (Hunt) traveling cross-country to California to be with her son (Brenton Thwaites) after he decides to drop out of school and become a surfer.
Hunt is an equally accomplished theater actress who reprised the role of Stage Manager in David Cromer’s production of “Our Town” in 2012 at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Hunt first played the role of Stage Manager in the 2010 New York production of “Our Town” at the Barrow Street Theater. Her Broadway credits include “Twelfth Night” (Viola) at Lincoln Center and “Life X Three” at Circle in the Square Theater. Other theatre credits include “Taming Of The Shrew” at NYSF—Shakespeare in the Park, “Been Taken” at EST, “Much Ado About Nothing” (Beatrice) at the Shakespeare Center LA, “The Guys” and “Methusalem” with the Actor’s Gang, “The Value Of Names” at the Skylight Theatre and “Love Letters” in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.
A Los Angeles native, Hunt grew up in an artistic environment. Her late father, Gordon Hunt, was a director and respected acting coach.
Speech Topics
Fighting for Equality in Hollywood & Beyond
When it comes to fighting for equality for women, Helen Hunt, an award-winning actress, writer, director and producer will never be silent. She’s been vocal about equal rights in Hollywood and beyond for over a decade. And she’s not the only one. Hunt’s great-great-grandmother was a pivotal figure in the battle for women's equality — a fact Hunt learned while exploring her family tree on NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are. It fired her up even more to take on the fight. In this conversation, Hunt shares her story of growing up in Hollywood, the sexism she faced and becoming politically engaged, from participating in marches with her daughter to demanding equal rights and opportunity on the set of the reboot of Mad About You. You’ll learn about this incredibly talented woman and what it takes to fight for your rights, whether you are in the film industry or any other place where there is disparity.
Re-Imagining Your Life
It’s no secret that Hollywood is not kind to actresses of a certain age — with fewer and fewer roles available. And yet, it hasn’t stopped Helen Hunt from moving forward and creating her own opportunities to excel. The Oscar-winning actor, writer, director and producer still acts in projects of her own choosing, has written, directed and produced two screenplays and even returned to school. In this conversation, Hunt shares her own journey of reinventing her own life and why it’s never too late to be brave and live your life fully.
Women’s Empowerment
There’s an old saying that “empowered women empower women” and no more is that true than for Helen Hunt. The actress, writer, director and producer learned through the years that when women support each other in their careers and lives, nothing can stop them. In this conversation, Hunt reveals the moments that others have helped her along the path of life and had her back — no matter the circumstance — and why there is so much power in supporting each other instead of going it alone.
How to Get Ahead in Hollywood
It’s a fact: Breaking into the entertainment industry is incredibly tough. But it’s still possible. You have to be pro-active creatively as an artist and not wait for the job to be handed to you, says Helen Hunt. And she should know. The actor, writer, director and producer is the daughter of a director/acting teacher. She has been in the business herself for almost 50 years and has won multiple Emmies, Golden Globes and an Academy Award for best actress for As Good as it Gets. In this conversation, Hunt shares her Hollywood journey, along with career advice for those who want to break into the business.
Cultivating Creativity
It’s a common misconception that creativity is this crazy talent that can’t be learned — more of a God-given gift. But in fact, we all have the capacity to be creative. It just needs to be encouraged and allowed to flourish. In this conversation, actor, writer, producer and director Helen Hunt shares the tools she uses to reach her full creative potential and how you can nurture innovation and imagination in your kids, as well.
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